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| Anti-abortion activists protest at Belfast clinic opening | Anti-abortion activists protest at Belfast clinic opening |
| (8 days later) | |
| A millionaire businessman who bankrolled the British National party has addressed a protest rally at the opening of the first private abortion clinic on the island of Ireland. | A millionaire businessman who bankrolled the British National party has addressed a protest rally at the opening of the first private abortion clinic on the island of Ireland. |
| Jim Dowson, a one-time associate and fundraiser for the BNP leader, Nick Griffin, joined anti-abortion groups from Dublin and Catholic west Belfast as well as Free Presbyterians in a demonstration outside the Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast. | Jim Dowson, a one-time associate and fundraiser for the BNP leader, Nick Griffin, joined anti-abortion groups from Dublin and Catholic west Belfast as well as Free Presbyterians in a demonstration outside the Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast. |
| He told several hundred activistsit was "good to see an issue that united Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland". | He told several hundred activistsit was "good to see an issue that united Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland". |
| Dowson was forced out of his local Orange Lodge in Scotland and took part in demonstrations against fellow Orangemen, attacking them as "atheists and boozers", after he became "born again". He has fallen out with the BNP leader and his party. | Dowson was forced out of his local Orange Lodge in Scotland and took part in demonstrations against fellow Orangemen, attacking them as "atheists and boozers", after he became "born again". He has fallen out with the BNP leader and his party. |
| The protesters also included the Rev David McIlveen, of Ian Paisley's Free Presbyterian church, and Catholic priests. The clinic will provide non-surgical, medical abortions for women who are up to nine weeks pregnant. | The protesters also included the Rev David McIlveen, of Ian Paisley's Free Presbyterian church, and Catholic priests. The clinic will provide non-surgical, medical abortions for women who are up to nine weeks pregnant. |
| In pouring rain, Catholic demonstrators sang hymns such as Ave Maria and recited the Rosary while Protestants waved posters urging the passing public to "Seek Ye the Lord". | In pouring rain, Catholic demonstrators sang hymns such as Ave Maria and recited the Rosary while Protestants waved posters urging the passing public to "Seek Ye the Lord". |
| The protesters occupied both sides of Great Victoria Street, with a smaller group huddling in the covered entrance to the opera house. Beneath an advertising hoarding for the racy musical Chicago, they marked the tolling of a bell at noon with a solemn recitation of the Angelus prayer. | The protesters occupied both sides of Great Victoria Street, with a smaller group huddling in the covered entrance to the opera house. Beneath an advertising hoarding for the racy musical Chicago, they marked the tolling of a bell at noon with a solemn recitation of the Angelus prayer. |
| Afterwards both sets of demonstrators clapped and cheered when Bernadette Smyth, spokeswoman for the pressure group Precious Life, predicted their campaign would "run Marie Stopes out of Ireland". | Afterwards both sets of demonstrators clapped and cheered when Bernadette Smyth, spokeswoman for the pressure group Precious Life, predicted their campaign would "run Marie Stopes out of Ireland". |
| A white van with a billboard on the roof declaring "Abortion is murder" drove up and down Great Victoria Street sounding its horn. Its registration – Co Monaghan in the Republic – indicated that the campaign against the clinic spanned the border as well as the north's divide. | A white van with a billboard on the roof declaring "Abortion is murder" drove up and down Great Victoria Street sounding its horn. Its registration – Co Monaghan in the Republic – indicated that the campaign against the clinic spanned the border as well as the north's divide. |
| The demonstrators cheered by news that Northern Ireland's attorney general, John Larkin QC, had called for a special Stormont investigation into the legality of the clinic's opening. Larkin said he could not intervene but would be happy to give advice to the power-sharing government. | The demonstrators cheered by news that Northern Ireland's attorney general, John Larkin QC, had called for a special Stormont investigation into the legality of the clinic's opening. Larkin said he could not intervene but would be happy to give advice to the power-sharing government. |
| It emerged that the clinic's management would be summoned to Stormont to explain how they are complying with the law. Alban Maginness, of the SDLP, said during a meeting of the justice committee: "What worries me in relation to Marie Stopes is that this clinic is outside the National Health Service. It does not appear to be regulated. | It emerged that the clinic's management would be summoned to Stormont to explain how they are complying with the law. Alban Maginness, of the SDLP, said during a meeting of the justice committee: "What worries me in relation to Marie Stopes is that this clinic is outside the National Health Service. It does not appear to be regulated. |
| "Given the contentious nature of their support for abortion it is necessary that the law is fully complied with and that we are assured by Marie Stopes. I think this is an important task for this committee and I hope that Marie Stopes organisation will respond positively to any invitation so then we can inquire from them what their position is within the law." | "Given the contentious nature of their support for abortion it is necessary that the law is fully complied with and that we are assured by Marie Stopes. I think this is an important task for this committee and I hope that Marie Stopes organisation will respond positively to any invitation so then we can inquire from them what their position is within the law." |
| Jim Wells, of the DUP, who also sits on the Stormont health committee, said the issue of abortion had now become a legal question. He said: "There is a huge public interest on this subject. It only appropriate to examine it. The public expect us to do something." | Jim Wells, of the DUP, who also sits on the Stormont health committee, said the issue of abortion had now become a legal question. He said: "There is a huge public interest on this subject. It only appropriate to examine it. The public expect us to do something." |
| Outside the clinic, Ciara Coyle, who had travelled from Derry to Belfast to join the protest, said she believed abortion was wrong "no matter what the circumstances are". Asked how she and other activists could prevent the clinic from operating, Coyle replied: "Unfortunately all we can do is pray, to pray and to protest peacefully. To be in the streets. I just can't understand why our politicians and the likes of the health minister can't stop this already." | Outside the clinic, Ciara Coyle, who had travelled from Derry to Belfast to join the protest, said she believed abortion was wrong "no matter what the circumstances are". Asked how she and other activists could prevent the clinic from operating, Coyle replied: "Unfortunately all we can do is pray, to pray and to protest peacefully. To be in the streets. I just can't understand why our politicians and the likes of the health minister can't stop this already." |
| She denied that there was a demand among women in Northern Ireland for abortion services. "I do believe that Northern Ireland is a pro-life country, like the whole of Ireland, and we will continue to make our stand," she said. | She denied that there was a demand among women in Northern Ireland for abortion services. "I do believe that Northern Ireland is a pro-life country, like the whole of Ireland, and we will continue to make our stand," she said. |
| Most pro-choice campaigners in Belfast chose to avoid confrontation and stayed away, but one woman stood demonstrating her support for the clinic. Danni Stanfield, 21, a student from Belfast, said: "Many of the people here today who are pro-life, if they were in that situation themselves they might take a different point of view. | Most pro-choice campaigners in Belfast chose to avoid confrontation and stayed away, but one woman stood demonstrating her support for the clinic. Danni Stanfield, 21, a student from Belfast, said: "Many of the people here today who are pro-life, if they were in that situation themselves they might take a different point of view. |
| "I don't think many here today have come from the background where they have gone through abortions themselves. I am pro-choice but I had to come here and support the clinic. I am not saying to women who get pregnant unplanned should have an abortion but rather that they be allowed that choice." | "I don't think many here today have come from the background where they have gone through abortions themselves. I am pro-choice but I had to come here and support the clinic. I am not saying to women who get pregnant unplanned should have an abortion but rather that they be allowed that choice." |
| Defying attempts to shout her down, Stanfield held aloft a homemade placard with a question on it for those who want no abortion in any circumstances anywhere in Ireland: "Been in the situation? Only then does your opinion count." | Defying attempts to shout her down, Stanfield held aloft a homemade placard with a question on it for those who want no abortion in any circumstances anywhere in Ireland: "Been in the situation? Only then does your opinion count." |
| A spokesperson for Marie Stopes said that since opening the clinic's doors they had been inundated with queries about their services in Belfast. | A spokesperson for Marie Stopes said that since opening the clinic's doors they had been inundated with queries about their services in Belfast. |
| Abortion law | Abortion law |
| Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where the 1967 Abortion Act does not apply. It still uses the 1861 Act banning abortion as an offence against the person. However, up to 40 medical terminations are carried out in Northern Ireland hospitals each year, covered by post-war legislation that allows for abortions only when the life of the mother is at risk. Up to 1,000 women are estimated to leave the province every year to have terminations in Britain and Europe. | Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where the 1967 Abortion Act does not apply. It still uses the 1861 Act banning abortion as an offence against the person. However, up to 40 medical terminations are carried out in Northern Ireland hospitals each year, covered by post-war legislation that allows for abortions only when the life of the mother is at risk. Up to 1,000 women are estimated to leave the province every year to have terminations in Britain and Europe. |
| In the Irish Republic there is an absolute ban on abortion. Even in the cases where babies would die at birth, women have the choice of either going through the full nine months of pregnancy or travelling out of the state to have an abortion. A referendum in 1983 determined that an unborn child is technically an Irish citizen with the full protection in rights contained in the Irish constitution. | In the Irish Republic there is an absolute ban on abortion. Even in the cases where babies would die at birth, women have the choice of either going through the full nine months of pregnancy or travelling out of the state to have an abortion. A referendum in 1983 determined that an unborn child is technically an Irish citizen with the full protection in rights contained in the Irish constitution. |
| The Fine Gael-Labour coalition government in Dublin has been forced to return to the abortion question after the European court of human rights ruled that the rights of a woman known as Cwere violated because she could not obtain a termination in the state even though she was suffering at the time from ovarian cancer. The coalition is preparing a paper on abortion reform but the Catholic church and radical anti-abortion groups such as Youth Defence have warned of an autumn offensive aimed at pressurising the senior coalition partner, Fine Gael, not to renege on its promise to keep the ban. | The Fine Gael-Labour coalition government in Dublin has been forced to return to the abortion question after the European court of human rights ruled that the rights of a woman known as Cwere violated because she could not obtain a termination in the state even though she was suffering at the time from ovarian cancer. The coalition is preparing a paper on abortion reform but the Catholic church and radical anti-abortion groups such as Youth Defence have warned of an autumn offensive aimed at pressurising the senior coalition partner, Fine Gael, not to renege on its promise to keep the ban. |
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